Too Much Information

I know that violence occurs every day. I know that there are thousands who die daily that do not "deserve" to die; and who among us really has that decision to make? I know that I don't... Since time immemorial, there has been plague, illness, famine, drought, pestilence, war and death - it is mentioned in all myths and legends of all countries. Once mankind developed a written language, all of these things have been recorded. Mankind's ways of killing have become more mechanized and specialized; now we can kill or infect millions of people at once, or one specific individual. It is truly frightening. Yesterday, a man returned home (having spent the night away, after an argument with his wife) and found a house full of death; his wife had shot and killed two of their three children, had critically injured the third with a gunshot, and then had killed herself. It is a terrible tragedy. In California, everyone is on the alert for an ex-Los Angeles police officer, who has killed three former co-workers and has a "hit list" posted with quite a few more. The man shot and killed an armed officer this morning, who was investigating the reported sighting of the ex-cop's vehicle. Tell me, please, what is happening in this world? Are people, as a whole, so inter-connected by so many media devices that one cannot escape all the reports of death and destruction? - I certainly don't remember the local news, when I was growing up, talk about this attack and that killing, and that fight, and this arrest... I remember news stories about fairs and museums and the Space Program - and, yes, I do remember the funeral of President Kennedy being covered on television - but that was an Earth-changing event.... I guess I'm just too saddened and depressed by all of the news of death and killings and mayhem....
  It's a beautiful blue-skied morning here in Boulder. Nedi and Lovey have been sun-bathing on the patio, and the squirrels are jumping over them to get to their nut supply in my wicker chairs. It's hysterical - watching the squirrel measure the length of the jump he has to make, crouching down, and then flying up and over the cat. Nedi occasionally swats a foreleg up into the air, but he's not really trying to catch a squirrel... And the squirrels could easily walk around the cats and reach the nuts, without leaping over the cats. I'm sure they all enjoy their games. Sleet fell last night, and there was a heavy frost on the grass this morning, but it's in the low 40s again. We are, however, expecting snow over the weekend. (Yeah! We need it.)
  Being ill at home, I haven't been able to see all my usual critters. I miss all the dogs and cats I normally see and care for. Rosie and Remy seem like a dream, as do Aiko and Yoshi, and Sasquatch and Tugger. I know that I'll recover, but I miss seeing all the critters on an almost daily basis. Mona has gone to live with Mike and Erin, so Boo is alone, too. I'm pretty sure she's lonely, having had either her mom, Suki, or Mona, for a constant companion. Maybe I can talk Kathy and Jim into adopting another older dog to be with Boo....